Container for food

ABSTRACT

It comprises two pieces comprising a base ( 1 ) and a lid ( 2 ). It is characterized in that the coupling means between the lid ( 2 ) and the base ( 1 ) are formed by a rim ( 3 ), provided on the edge of one of the pieces of the container, which defines a C-shape cavity ( 4 ), into which a complementary flange ( 5 ), provided on the edge of the other piece of the container, is fitted. It is obtained a container for pizzas and the like which occupies a reduced space when it is opened compared with the well-known container for pizzas, because the lid is not joined to the base.

The present invention refers to a container for food, especiallydesigned, although not only, for pizzas and the like, formed by a baseand a lid that are coupled together.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Current pizza containers are made up of a base of corrugated cardboardsheet and a lid coupled over it. As the container is made from only onesheet, the lid is joined to the base.

This type of container has various drawbacks. Firstly, it is very commonthat the container with the recently cooked pizza inside is placeddirectly onto the table, and on opening the container the space that thelid takes up can be a real nuisance.

Furthermore, they also take up a lot of transport and storage space, asalthough they are made up of only one sheet, the dimensions of it arequite large.

Another drawback is the time it takes to assemble each container. Thetime required for assembling the containers means that usually a certainamount is mounted and then stored, which means they occupy even morespace.

There is another type of containers made of sheet material, preferablycardboard, which are formed of a base and a lid which are coupledtogether. The coupling between the base and the lid is made by fittingthe lid into the top part of the base. However, this type of containersneeds some kind of seal or the like, as without it the container cancome open if it is accidentally tilted.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With the container of the invention all the aforementioned disadvantagesare eliminated, and present other advantages described below.

The food container of the invention comprises two pieces consisting of abase and a lid which can be coupled together, both the lid and the basebeing made of at least one layer of sheet material; and it ischaracterized in that the coupling means between the lid and the baseare formed by a rim, provided on the edge of one of the pieces of thecontainer, which defines a C-shape cavity, a complementary flangeprovided in the edge of the other piece of the container fiting insidesaid cavity.

Thanks to this characteristic, it is obtained a container for pizzas andthe like made up of a base and lid that fit together. Therefore, thecontainer of the invention takes up less space when opened if comparedto currently known pizza containers, as the lid can be removed from thetable, or it can even be used as a plate.

Furthermore, thanks to the aforementioned coupling means, no type ofseal is necessary to avoid the container opening if tilted.

Preferently, the aforementioned rim which defines a C-shape cavity isprovided on the base.

Advantageously, both the base and the lid have sloping walls to makestorage easier.

Also advantatgeously, the lid comprises an orifice in its sloping wallmaking it easier to open the container. This way, the container can beopened by inserting a finger into the orifice and raising the lid.

Another point that makes removing the lid easier is that the said flangehas a cut-out in the area adjacent to the aforementioned orifice in thesloping wall of the lid.

To pile up the containers the base comprises a projection complementarywith a cavity provided in the lid, or vice versa.

To make it easier to put the lid in place, it comprises a series of cutsin its wall directed towards the centre of the lid.

According to a preferred embodiment, both the base and the lid comprisea layer of corrugated cardboard, thus permitting the container topresent thermal insulating properties as well as the desired stiffness.

Advantageously, both the base and the lid comprise an internal layer ofanti-grease material and/or an internal layer of thermally insulatingmaterial.

Preferently, at least one of the mentioned layers covers the whole ofthe base and the lid except the rim or the coupling flange to makeproduction of the container easier and to avoid unnecessary waste ofmaterial.

To facilitate the storing of the containers, the external edge of thelid coincides substantially with the internal edge of the base, so thatthe lid is placed upside down inside the base, with the said flangebeing inserted in said C-shape cavity.

To make it easier to remove the lid from inside the base when they arecoupled in the storage or transporting position, when the container ofthe invention is empty, said rim comprises at least one pair of cuts,each pair of these cuts defining a tongue.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To better understand all the aforementioned, there are some accompanyingdrawings which, diagramatically and only as a non-limitative example,represent a practical embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the base and the lid which form thecontainer of the invention separated one from each other;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of one sectioned end of the container of thepresent invention, with the base and the lid coupled together;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view of two containers of the present inventionpiled one on top of the other;

FIG. 4 shows an elevation view of a container of the present inventionsectioned, with the base and the container coupled in their storage andtransporting position when empty; and

FIG. 5 is an elevation view of two bases of the container of the presentinvention coupled together for its transporting and storage.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As can be appreciated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the container of the presentinvention is formed by a base 1 and a lid 2 which can be coupledtogether.

To couple the pieces together, the base 1 comprises a rim 3 along itsedge which defines a C-shape cavity 4, while the lid 2 comprises aflange 5 which is fitted into said cavity 4. To make this couplingeasier, the lid 2 has a series of cuts 12 distributed around the edge ina suitable way.

To remove the lid 2 an orifice 8 is provided for a finger to be insertedand the lid 2 to be raised. To make opening the container of theinvention even easier, the flange 5 comprises a cut-out 9 in the zoneadjacent to the said orifice 8.

Therefore, it is obtained a container made up of two pieces, base 1 andlid 2, it being easy to fit and remove the lid 2.

In FIG. 2, it can be appreciated in detail the layers which form boththe base 1 and the lid 2. In the case of the represented embodiment, thebase 1 and the lid 2 have the same number of layers and said layerspresent of the same characteristics.

Specifically, and according to the represented embodiment, the lid 2 andthe base 1 are made from an intermediate layer 13 of corrugatedcardboard, which presents characteristics of adequate thermal insulatingand stiffness. Furthermore, the base 1 and the lid 2 comprise aninternal layer 14 of an anti-grease material and an external layer 15 ofa thermally insulating material. To make production of the inventedcontainer easier and to avoid unnecessary waste of material, theinternal layer 14 and the external layer 15 do not cover the rim 3 orthe flange 5.

As can be clearly appreciated from FIG. 3, the containers of the presentinvention can be piled up one on top of the other. This characteristicis achieved by the provision of a projection 10 in the base 1complementary with a cavity 11 provided in the lid 2, or vice versa, sothat when two containers of the present invention are piled up the saidprojection 10 is fitted inside the complementary cavity 11.

So that the container takes up the least possible space when empty inits storage or transporting position, both the base 1 and the lid 2 havesloping walls 6, 7, so that the internal edge of the base 1 coincidessubstantially with the external edge of the lid 2, or vice versa. Ifrequired, it is also possible to transport and store the lids 2 piledone on top of the other independently of the bases 1, which will also bepiled one on top of the other. These storage positions can beappreciated clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5.

To make it easier to remove the lid 2 in the storage position when thelid 2 is placed upside down on the base 1, there are provided some cuts16 (FIG. 1) which define tongues 17. If removal of the lid 2 from thebase 1 is required, simply pulling one of the said tongues 17 givesaccess to the flange 5, which when pulled removes the lid 2.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been referred to, itis evident to a person skilled in the art that the described containeris susceptible to numerous variations and modifications, and that allthe aforementioned details can be substituted by technically equivalentothers, without departing from the scope of protection defined by theappended claims.

1. A container for pizzas and the like, which comprises two piecescomprising a base (1) and a lid (2) which can be coupled together, thecoupling means between the lid (2) and the base (1) are formed by a rim(3), provided on the edge of one of the pieces of the container, whichdefines a C-shape cavity (4), into which a complementary flange (5),provided on the edge of the other piece of the container, is fitted,wherein the base and the lid are dish-shaped and the lid and the baseare formed of at least one layer of cardboard.
 2. A container accordingto claim 1, wherein said rim (3) which defines a C shape (4) is providedon the base (1).
 3. A container according to claim 1, wherein both thebase (1) and the lid (2) have sloping walls (6, 7).
 4. A containeraccording to claim 3, wherein the lid (2) comprises an orifice (8) inits sloping wall (7) to make opening the container easier.
 5. Acontainer according to claim 3, wherein said flange (5) presents acut-out (9) in the zone adjacent to said orifice (8) provided on thesloping wall (7) of the lid (2).
 6. A container according to claim 1,wherein the base (1) comprises a projection (10) complementary with acomplementary cavity (11) provided on the lid (2), or vice versa.
 7. Acontainer according to claim 1, wherein the lid (2) comprises a seriesof cuts (12) in its wall (7) directed towards the centre of the lid (2).8. A container according to claim 1, wherein both the base (1) and thelid (2) comprise a layer of corrugated cardboard (13).
 9. A containeraccording to claim 1, wherein both the base (1) and the lid (2) comprisean internal layer (14) of anti-grease material.
 10. A containeraccording to claim 1, wherein both the base (1) and the lid (2) comprisean external layer (15) of thermally insulating material.
 11. A containeraccording to claim 8, wherein said at least one of said layers coversall of the base (1) and all of the lid (2) except the rim (3) or thecoupling flange (5).
 12. A container according to claim 1, wherein theoutside edge of the lid (2) coincides substantially with the internaledge of the base (1), said flange (5) fitting inside said C-shape cavity(4):
 13. A container according to claim 13, further comprising at leasta pair of cuts (16) provided on said rim (3), each pair of these cuts(16) defining a tongue (17).
 14. A container according to claim 9,wherein said at least one of said layers covers all of the base (1) andall of the lid (2) except the rim (3) or the coupling flange (5).
 15. Acontainer according to claim 10, wherein said at least one of saidlayers covers all of the base (1) and all of the lid (2) except the rim(3) or the coupling flange (5).